Features
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The Viscount: A rare production-built Norvin with Bonneville pedigree
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Marrying a Vincent V-twin engine and a Norton Featherbed frame was a well-known partnership by the end of the 1950s, but these ‘Norvins’ were generally the province of the amateur builder. Then motorcycle engineer Tom Somerton of Somerton Engineering decided that something a little less homebuilt would appeal to racers. One of the most successful…
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Looking back: Bultaco Owners Club gathers at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum
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Looking back to April, the Bultaco Club UK brought more than 50 Bultaco motorcycles together at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum, a fitting venue given the close association between Bultaco and Sammy Miller during the 1960s. Chris Mabey was there to capture the day. In glorious April sunshine, the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum was delighted…
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From shed-find moped to classic bikes: Pete Chatburn’s motorcycling story
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Pete Chatburn tells us about his start in motorcycling (and that’s how he titled his letter – we’re not being rude!) and wonders whether might be buried treasure on a local airfield. It all started for me in 1965 when I found my Granpa’s abandoned 1959 Raleigh RM1C moped in the shed behind his tailor’s…
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Looking for a Saint? One rider’s search for an ex-Metropolitan Police Triumph
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Given his occupation, readers will not be surprised by the title the Reverend John Lines MBE has have given this article, but he will now set the scene for you… In a previous article (Readers Tales, OBM485) I wrote about my beautiful Triumph Thunderbird that I have managed to get returned to the condition it…
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Hidden Gems: Honda SL350
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Steve Cooper introduces us to one of the prettiest – and most underrated – of Honda’s 1970s offerings. Some would argue that, when Honda dropped the hugely successful CB72/77 for its follow up K Series 250/350 it somehow cheapened the brand. To a point that’s correct, but for good reason – the outgoing models were…
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Looking back at the sidecar TT
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With the news that this year’s Sidecar TT class was cancelled after two massive crashes, Mick Payne takes a look at when Great Britain ruled on three wheels. Mick Payne reports When I introduced the concept of an A to Z of sidecars I admitted it wasn’t likely to be a set-in-stone monthly feature, and…
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The man who made the Manx better: John Tickle’s lighter, faster Norton
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John Tickle is a legendary name in the world of Norton, not least because it was he who – whisper it low – improved the Manx Norton. When he had bought the contents of the AMC race shop in 1966, Colin Seeley also acquired all the Manx Norton rights and parts. He decided to concentrate…
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Time to consider a base in the sun
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It started off as an adventure with my wife, a 1954 Velocette MSS and a one-way ferry ticket from Ireland to Bilbao.
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40 years of the Beast: How Suzuki’s GSX-R1100 rewrote the superbike rules
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Suzuki’s beast of a bike – the GSX-R1100G first hit UK showrooms some 40 years ago. Bertie Simmonds looks back… The GSX-R750F of 1985 revolutionised sportsbike design, even if it used tried and tested technology, but by making the whole bike lighter… For the 1986 GSX-R1100, Suzuki applied very similar thinking. This bike weighed in…
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The girl on a motorcycle
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Around Hull there was a legend of a beautiful blonde on a big Harley. But, as her friend Mike Cartlidge, tells us, that was no myth – that was Anita Manley. This is a tribute to a lovely lady who, in her younger days, did not need Bill Ivy or Fred Warr in a blonde…
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